Flickr Photo by Joe Lanman Last week, I wrote a post asking "How Can We Make Charitable Giving A Year-Round Habit?"  I'm not the only blogger to wonder after the holiday season of giving, what can we do on a regular basis to give back as One Ping Only describes in this post.   So, I went through the calendar identifying holidays and seasons when you might give to a particular charity. 

This past week has been about the lightest blogging week ever.   I've had time offline, with family, and just relaxing.  It's also that time of year when you think about setting personal goals or making resolutions for change.  I've been thinking a lot of those, mostly internal - personal improvement and professional goals for my work, blog, and professional learning.

Beth's Birthday Cause I was listening to a story on Marketplace on NPR this afternoon with Tess Vigeland and Chris Farrell who reviewed their 2008 financial goals and graded themselves on their accomplishments.  Chris Farrell set a 2008 goal to make his charitable giving a monthly activity, not a mad rush in December.  He confessed that didn't meet the monthly goal, although he did a lot of research and giving in December.   Given the economy and its impact on nonprofits and fundraising,  it got me thinking that making charitable giving a habit beyond the holidays is a good thing. 

Never quite got what fair trade coffee is all about? Lucky for you, here's a one-paragraph explanation of why fair trade coffee's necessary, brought to you by a travel article titled "Destination: The Java Zone" in Sierra magazine written by Gregory Dicum, eco-journalist and coffee enthusiast:

I want my kids to be very aware of the world outside their safe little nest. As heartbreaking as it may be, I want them to know that there are many people living with hurt, need, hardship and loss. It isn't always an easy line for a parent to walk--I don't want to heap guilt upon my children (the whole "clean-your-plate-because-of-the-starving-children-in-Africa" routine). I do want them to enjoy what we've been given with thankful hearts. But I believe a healthy awareness of the need around them is good for a child.

My Son's Adoption Announcement Almost ten years ago, as my husband and I were preparing to travel to Cambodia to bring home our adopted son, Harry, I created an adoption announcement that was combination of different cultural icons.  I scanned a 1930's birth announcement depicting a stork carrying a baby, inserted my son's photo in the bundle, and substituted western houses for Cambodia's Angkor Watt.   This sort of "mash up" is how we've celebrated our own traditions, while integrating customs and ideas from Cambodian culture.

Honey's become a major environmental topic these days, what with huge numbers of bees vanishing mysteriously in North America. The phenomenon, dubbed colony collapse disorder, has everyone from foodies to farmers to filmmakers buzzing about what's causing the problem and how to fix it.

Below is my 4th annual list of Favorite Do-Good Books (in alphabetical order). You can also check out my lists from past years: Favorite Do-Good Books of 2007 Favorite Do-Good Books of 2006 Favorite Do-Good Books of 2005

The short, dark, last days of the year are a great time to reflect on your 2008 Activist Resolutions, and your favorite "social actions" of 2008. What did you do this year that you feel made a real impact? My favorite social action was being a sponsor for Jacinta Onoro, a Nigerian woman participating in Women for Women International.

In literature the personal narrative is the factual or fictional recounting of an experience. From identity politics to Twitter tweets this has certainly been the year of the personal narrative. It is the search for your story told by another being that shares or reflects your thoughts, feelings and, at times, pain.

Photo by Chrstopher This week's massive Ponzi scheme by Bernard Madoff has made a tough economy even tougher for a number of charities and Jewish philanthropies. At least foundations have closed their doors and major losses have been reported by foundations established Steven Spielberg, Elie Wiesel, and Sen. Frank R. Launtenberg.

I think that our hearts speak to us and gives us messages... They can be just whispers. But the important thing is that we pay attention and we learn to listen. Because when we follow our hearts we realize we have the potential to do anything or to be anything. As young women in this world ,we are truly limitless. - Maggi Doyne